[Reere]

Barcrafts from down-under
by @tRonergan

Are you one of those passionate viewers who watch’s hours and hours of Starcraft? Cheering when your favorite player pulls off a massive play and wins a crucial game? I certainly am, but there is something missing in E-Sports. There is a social aspect of Starcraft, but you’re hardly ever with another person in the flesh and cannot make that physical connection unless you’re at the event itself. I’m from Australia so being at the massive events in Europe, Korea and America is pretty unlikely. There is another option though, and that’s Barcraft.

Sports are shown at Sports Bar and luckily that includes E-Sports. In May 2011 Glen “Oskar” Bowers and a group of friends from Seattle came up with the idea to show professional Starcraft 2 inside a bar. Just over two years later there are bars across the world that frequently give their time to thousands of Starcraft fans. In Australia, these bars include The Exchange Hotel (Melbourne), The Metropolitan Hotel (Adelaide), The Paragon Hotel (Sydney) and The Varsity Bar (Perth). All held Barcrafts for the WCS Korea grand finals between Soulkey and Innovation.


Barcraft Melbourne

Silicon Sports, Vinnicave, Blizzard and Volume store hosted a Barcraft at the Exchange hotel. With heaps of prizes from the event sponsors and a great Starcraft series, this was a great night. Everyone who has spoken about the night had nothing but positive feedback and they can’t wait for the next epic match.




Barcraft Adelaide

Hyding breed hosted the WCS Korea Barcraft for Adelaide along with support from Tt eSports. Tt gave away multiple prizes through out the night. A great community vibe from the smaller region of Adelaide this was a fun event and with continued support hopefully we see more.


Barcraft Sydney

Barcraft Sydney is always a massive event since they have arguably the largest eSports community in Australia. This one was brought to us by Oceanic eSports, OCZ, The Gamer Pad and AverMedia. Sydney Barcraft received event of the year in 2011. This photo shows us why.




Barcraft Perth

Oceanic eSports ran not only Syndey Barcraft but also Perth Barcraft. Again supported by OCZ, The gamer pad, AverMedia and Power Shield. With just over 40 people attending which is extremely strong considering the size of the western Australian scene.

With tournaments like Dreamhack, MLG, HSC and WCS season 2 around the corner, be sure to give these eSports bars a visit if you’re around!

Reference:
Barcraft Melbourne photo - http://www.siliconesports.net
Barcraft Sydney photo - https://www.facebook.com/OceaniceSports

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